Controlling vehicles using vehicle-to-vehicle communication has been a challenging task for many decades now. While many enterprises have tried to create vehicles that can be controlled remotely, many have failed due to the complexity of the systems at play. While a toy car may not be difficult to assemble, building a large vehicle for use on public roads can be a daunting task. For example, vehicles may need to utilize some type of computer vision, such as camera, radar, or LIDAR, to prevent accidental collisions. In some systems, various vehicle dynamics come into play and a precise system must know the weight of a vehicle, a vehicle's wheelbase, a vehicle's suspension, etc.
Previous solutions to control vehicles have included drive-by-wire systems. A drive-by-wire system replaces a mechanical system in a car by electronically “connecting” major components. For example, an accelerator pedal that would normally have cables attached to it to control the throttle valve of an engine can be replaced with a pedal that is electronically connected to the throttle valve of an engine. Similarly, a brake by wire system could eliminate the need for hydraulics by using motors to actuate calipers, in comparison to the currently existing technology where a system provides braking effort by building hydraulic pressure in brake lines. With steering by wire, fewer mechanical components or linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels are utilized and replaced by electric motors which may be actuated by electronic control units (ECUs) monitoring steering wheel inputs.
While drive-by-wire systems work well in some environments, they are not always ideal for precision systems as required by vehicles that travel on public roads. For example, controlling a vehicle's speed using only an engine throttle and a caliper brake may not be ideal when precision acceleration or braking is required. Similarly, controlling the direction of a vehicle's wheels by moving a steering wheel (physically or remotely) may not be as precise as required by some applications—particularly at high speeds.
Thus, devices, methods, and systems described herein provide improvements in the art by being capable of controlling one or more vehicles, including a platoon of vehicles, more precisely than systems currently available in the art.